Methods and apparatus for minimizing excess aluminum accumulation in CVD chambers

(19)

(11)

EP 0 870 851 A3

(12)	EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION

(88)	Date of publication A3:
	14.03.2001 Bulletin 2001/11

(43)	Date of publication A2:
	14.10.1998 Bulletin 1998/42

(21)	Application number: 98301076.0

(22)	Date of filing: 13.02.1998

(51)	International Patent Classification (IPC)⁷: C23C 16/20, C23C 16/44, H01L 21/285

(84)	Designated Contracting States:
	AT BE CH DE DK ES FI FR GB GR IE IT LI LU MC NL PT SE
	Designated Extension States:
	AL LT LV MK RO SI

(30)

Priority:

13.02.1997 US 791131

(71)	Applicant: Applied Materials, Inc.
	Santa Clara, California 95054 (US)

(72)	Inventors:
	Littau, Karl Palo Alto, California 94306 (US) Zhou, Dashun S. Sunnyvale, California 94086 (US) Mak, Alfred Union City, California 94587 (US) Chen, Ling Sunnyvale, California 94087 (US)

(74)	Representative: Bayliss, Geoffrey Cyril et al
	BOULT WADE TENNANT, Verulam Gardens 70 Gray's Inn Road London WC1X 8BT London WC1X 8BT (GB)

(54)	Methods and apparatus for minimizing excess aluminum accumulation in CVD chambers

(57) A method and apparatus for minimizing excess aluminum deposition that can build up inside a substrate processing chamber (15) during an aluminum CVD substrate processing operation. The method of the present invention periodically introduces nitrogen into the processing chamber (15) after aluminum CVD processing of at least a single wafer in order to minimize unwanted aluminum accumulation in various parts of the chamber. According to one embodiment, the present invention provides a method of minimizing excess metal deposition inside a substrate processing chamber after a substrate processing operation. The method includes the steps of introducing a nitrogen-containing passivating gas into a chamber through edge and/or bottom purge lines (24,38) after the substrate processing operation, and maintaining at least a portion of the chamber at a second temperature during the introducing step thereby reducing excess metal build up within the chamber. In preferred embodiments, the method is performed after removal of the substrate from the processing chamber. In other preferred embodiments, the second temperature ranges from about 200-300^ºC.

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